I have such a funny relationship with this dish. In France, it has a reputation for being a cliché: the kind of thing people haul out to impress their friends at a dinner party. On that basis, I always feel a bit silly making this. On the other hand, it’s a cinch to prepare and it has to be said, it is pretty tasty.

At this point, I would hesitate to say this is really a basque dish. It’s really a French dish, in the same way spaghetti and meatballs is more of an American dish than an Italian one. All recipes have similar contours. Everyone still has their own slightly different way of putting this together.

At the margin, or if I were less lazy, this would be a bit tastier if you broke down a whole chicken and used that, or even used bone-in, skin-on chicken.

In my mind, this dish is without an associated season. If you can get your hands on great fresh tomatoes, those would definitely be a better choice. I’d cut them in half and grate them. Most of the year, you’re much better off getting great canned tomatoes, so I’ve put that in here.

For an extra dimension, this dish is great with something crunchy sprinkled on top like some pangrattato.

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • 1 kg (about 2 pounds) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 2 mild green peppers (e.g., )
  • 1 red pepper, cut into 1 cm wide slices
  • 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon piment d’Espelette (or smoked paprika)
  • 150 g (mL) dry white wine
  • 400 g (14 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • Flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Preparation

Preheat an oven to 150 °C (300 °F).

Heat a film of olive oil over high heat in a Dutch oven. Brown the chicken pieces (in batches if necessary) and then set them to the side.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, peppers, and garlic. Cook the aromatics until they’re softened. Then add the piment d’Espelette and stir it into the aromatics.

Pour in the white wine and deglaze the pan. Follow with the tomatoes. Put the chicken back into the pan and cover the pan with a tight fitting lid.

Move the pan to the preheated oven. Let the chicken braise for around 40 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with the chopped parsley.